On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with the Ukraine negotiating team in Florida to further discuss acceptable terms for a broader ceasefire and end to the war.

Still trying to recover from corruption charges against his senior presidential team, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not at the talks. Instead, the Ukraine delegation was led by State Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, while Zelenskyy went to Paris for an emotional support session with Emmanuel Macron.

Secretary Rubio and Secretary Umerov spoke before and after their 5-hour negotiation session.  Secretary Rubio emphasized the main topic as securing the long-term future of Ukraine both from a security position and from an economic prosperity position.

This state security aspect comes as the Ukraine delegation is facing pressure to accept, they will lose most -if not all- of the Donbas region to Russia. “The end goal is obviously not just the end of the war. Obviously, that’s central and fundamental,” Rubio said. “It’s also about securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.”

In better-than-expected news, the EU is now saying they will not comply with any removal of sanctions against Russia.  If the U.S-Russia and Ukraine work out a negotiated settlement that permits legal or economic relief for Vladimir Putin, the European Union will not agree and will instead make up their own decision on the issues.

Europe is holding this position as a threat, because President Trump is not fully consulting with them on all the granular details.  However, this is the type of threat that is exactly beneficial to what appears to be the long-term strategy of Trump.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban not only represents a friendly European voice to the objectives of the Trump administration, but also Orban is a close personal friend of President Trump both in and out of office.

Trump and Orban have long held a very close relationship, including friendship with the family of First Lady Melania Trump.  They are all very close – Shinzo Abe-type close – both from the White House and time in Mar-a-Lago.

On November 7, 2025, Prime Minister Viktor Orban again visited President Trump in the White House, including dinner with the Trump cabinet.  Then, word of the Ukraine corruption scandal broke.

A week following the White House visit (November 14) Prime Minister Orban said, “The golden illusion of Ukraine is falling apart. A wartime mafia network with countless ties to President Zelensky has been exposed. The energy minister has already resigned, and the main suspect has fled the country. This is the chaos into which the Brusselian elite want to pour European taxpayers’ money, where whatever isn’t shot off on the front lines ends up in the pockets of the war mafia. Madness. Thank you, but we want no part of this.”

The direct and non-pretending remarks from Viktor Orban highlighted a sense of the issue carried by a majority of the commonsense people around Russia, Europe, America and the world in general.  However, soon thereafter, as President Trump, Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio were delivering deliberate terms to finally end the conflict, the Western intelligence network leaked an intercepted phone call between Witkoff and Putin’s senior foreign policy advisor, Ushakov.

The intelligence apparatus, likely originating from the U.K., purposefully wanted to disrupt all this peaceful resolution effort. The conflict has both benefactors and beneficiaries that do not want peace, both here and in Europe.

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Earlier this month Ukrainian businessman Tymur Mindich, co-owner of Kvartal 95 the Ukrainian TV production company Volodymyr Zelenskyy founded before he became president, fled the country as the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) announced results from a widespread corruption probe.

Money given to Ukraine for subsidies was being skimmed from the energy sector by several high-profile government and business officials. The NABU probe and raids on offices to discover document trails of the officials is ongoing.

Today, NABU officials raided the home of Andriy Yermak (pictured left), head of the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Simultaneous with the raid, Zelenskyy announced the firing of Yermak from his office:

“There will be a reset of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The Head of the Office, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation. I am grateful to Andriy for always representing Ukraine’s position on the negotiation track exactly as it should be represented. It has always been a patriotic position. But I want to eliminate any rumors and speculation.” (SOURCE)

As I shared earlier regarding the NABU investigation, I have personally seen these corrupt Ukraine characters (politicians and private sector oligarchs) in action, literally spending tens-of-thousands of U.S. taxpayer funds (in cash) at the Port of Montenegro while I was tracking them in 2023 and 2024.  They were staying in massive suites at the Regent Hotel, expensive boats and exotic cars with each. So please, don’t try to sell me on the honorable Ukraine politician schtick.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is worried the Russians will use the corruption story to undermine his government, so he has spent the past two weeks on the phone with his U.K/USA and EU benefactors trying to keep the supportive money flowing while his government officials skim the funds.

However, notice how quiet the U.S. Senate has been on this explosive story about Ukraine officials being caught skimming money.  The Senate is quiet because almost two-thirds of the senators are taking money from the laundry operation [LIST HERE].It’s not just Ukraine officials making money from the massive EU/USA funding scheme.

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On the sidelines of a trade and economic discussion with the govt of Kyrgyzstan and the CSTO summit, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin took questions from media about the Ukraine -vs- Russia conflict.

Now, due to the significance of his remarks, and keeping in mind these responses are in the Russian language, it becomes important for WESTERN READERS to evaluate the translation.  Vladimir Putin speaks in direct terms that are often not understood in western translation, the nuance within the translation is important.

That said, I am going through the remarks; I will share the video and ongoing translation while extrapolating against the known backdrop of communication as shared by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Emissary Steve Witkoff and ultimately, President Donald Trump.

It appears that Russian President Putin is expecting the arrival of a U.S. delegation to Moscow, likely Witkoff, Saturday, Sunday or Monday (early next week).  This aligns with the prior statements of President Trump during remarks aboard Air Force One.

In general, and in the specifically official nuance that Russian President Vladimir Putin is known for, Putin affirmed that Steve Witkoff and Yury Ushakov are key “informal” negotiators. Each emissary from each leader allowed space for plain language discussions.  Witkoff represents the voice of Donald Trump, and Ushakov representing the voice of Vladimir Putin.

Witkoff and Ushakov can meet and discuss the reality of things without concern for the noise of diplomatic stakeholders. Both men are closely trusted advisors of their principals, Trump and Putin.  When the elements of their discussions need to transfer to formal contexts, Witkoff/Trump bring aboard Secretary Rubio while Ushakov/Putin bring in Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.  The official teams transfer the common language objective into diplomatic details.

As to the status of the current conflict from the Russian perspective.  Vladimir Putin was brutally honest and pragmatic in his remarks.

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Delegations from Ukraine and the USA have been holding talks in Geneva on a draft peace plan. No statement has been officially released, but Ukraine and Russia had received the draft 28-point plan aimed at ending the war. President Trump put the general deadline date of Thursday for review.

Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has said the plan could form the basis of an agreement, but Ukraine and its European money laundering stakeholders have expressed concern. Giving a brief update during discussions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US and Ukrainian teams had held “probably the best meeting” since Trump returned to office.

Negotiations continued all day with Secretary Rubio noting significant progress has been made and talks will continue into tomorrow. Rubio noted, “we just need more time.” WATCH:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been using his X Account all day to message with allies and “stakeholders” about the negotiations.  Zelenskyy is the performative face of opposition to the peace agreement and leveraging external pressure to maintain a fight that domestically has lost significant support.

President Trump has expressed frustration with Zelenskyy’s intransigence; however, if the reporting is accurate Zelenskyy has been informed this 26 or 28 point proposal is his last opportunity to negotiate in good faith before President Trump cuts off all assistance to Ukraine.   Secretary Rubio seems very optimistic.

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President Trump confirmed on Fox News (during an interview with Brian Kilmeade) he gave Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a week to review the 28-point peace proposal organized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Ukraine will likely never agree to the proposal, because too many European and American interests are grounded in maintaining conflict between Russia and Ukraine.  However, the shift this time is that if Ukraine/EU/NATO and Congress do not agree to the ceasefire and peace proposal, President Trump has indicated he will withdraw all support.

Axios originally obtained the 28-page proposal, and Politico has confirmed it.

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When Europe goes to war with Russia, they will not require the military to fill out customs declarations as they cross borders within the EU.

Tanks, missiles, artillery and most combat weapons could be exempt from EU customs declarations if the plan by Brussels moves forward.

Additionally, under the proposal most drivers of military equipment may even be permitted to exceed the limits on driving times and rest periods, should the fight against Russia require extended physical effort.

The newly proposed objective is to empower European soldiers to make independent decisions without having to fill out the customary paperwork, requiring prior approval from the European Commission before affixing their bayonets. The EU wants to work out the details before they begin military operations against the Russian Federation.

EUROPE – […] The communication notes that some countries require 45 days of advance notice before allowing military equipment to cross their territory. “Significant barriers to effective military mobility in the EU persist,” the communication notes. “National rules are often divergent, fragmented and non-harmonised.”

[…] “We need to move fast. We need to move faster than what Europe is used to or is expecting to,” Tzitzikostas said, saying the target is to get the basics in place by 2030.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned over the weekend that Russia may be capable of launching an attack on a NATO member state as early as 2028-2029.

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President Donald Trump gave U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, all the tools and leverage needed to bring the Swiss govt to a substantive trade agreement.  The pressure was too much to bear, so Switzerland quickly negotiated a deal.

In the background President Trump’s global trade reset has been seriously damaging for the Swiss industrial economy.  The EU overall, Germany specifically and China, have stopped purchasing precision Swiss industrial machinery.

It’s not the direct tariffs against Swiss precision machinery itself that created the pressure, but rather the tariffs against nations who purchased the Swiss precision machinery.

China was a big purchaser of the Swiss machinery, until Beijing stole enough intellectual property to develop their own precision machining capacity.  Slowly China didn’t need Switzerland.

Germany and the EU economy then began to contract as the Trump tariffs bit hard against their exports to the USA.

Simultaneously, Chinese EV production started replacing more expensive European EV production, and the tooling purchases within the auto industry began contracting within Switzerland.

As things unfolded, the forecast for the future of the Swiss economy started to become very clear; their precision industrial exports were going to continue contracting.  Something needed to change, and fast.

Ambassador Jamieson Greer announces a major free trade agreement with Switzerland {SEE HERE} and the White House provides a fact sheet {SEE HERE}. A joint statement is then released:

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has had enough.  The European Union is consistently targeting him for his position against the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and western elements of the intelligence apparatus have been trying to undermine Orban’s government for years.

Against the most recent revelations of direct corruption connected to the government of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Orban says, “enough.”

Prime Minister Orban – “The golden illusion of Ukraine is falling apart. A wartime mafia network with countless ties to President [Zelensky has been exposed. The energy minister has already resigned, and the main suspect has fled the country.

This is the chaos into which the Brusselian elite want to pour European taxpayers’ money, where whatever isn’t shot off on the front lines ends up in the pockets of the war mafia. Madness.

Thank you, but we want no part of this. We will not send the Hungarian people’s money to Ukraine. It can be put to far better use at home: this week alone we doubled foster parents’ allowances and approved the 14th month’s pension.

Anyhow, after all this, we certainly won’t give in to the Ukrainian president’s financial demands and blackmail. It’s high time Brussels finally understood where their money is really going.” [SOURCE]

PM Orban and President Donald Trump are allies and personal friends. No doubt they both spoke about this.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds a press conference with the traveling State Dept press pool following the G7 foreign ministers meeting.

Secretary Rubio was questioned about Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and the EU position against the USA on the narco terrorist strikes toward Central America.  Secretary Rubio sets the record straight.  WATCH:

On Sudan: “The horrifying reports of the massacre of hundreds of Sudanese civilians after the Darfur city of El Fasher was captured by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last week were the latest chapter in a brutal conflict that has killed more than 150,000 people over the past two and a half years.” (read more)

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